Personal effects

Personal effects

The windows in our 100-year-old house are draughty and ill-fitting. We have had local and national companies to quote. They have confusing prices and continually phone up offering discounts. How do I separate the window wheat from the double-glazing duffers?

Saving the planet?

The uPVC people will tell you your house will be increased in value, you will be draught-free and the planet will be saved because you are no longer producing heat that goes out of the cracks.

An environmentalist with nothing to sell will tell you that the production of uPVC windows is massively polluting - and that the whole lot are likely to degrade over two or three decades.

There are firms that will refurbish original sash windows and draught-proof them. Above all, avoid the people who continually phone up offering discounts. These are likely to be the cowboys.Judith Martin, Winchester

Norwegian wood

We live in an in an old Edwardian house built in the 1890s and once had the same problem.

Get on the web, as I did some months ago. I found Nor-dan [UK], Hansen, and there are others. Nor-dan's windows are made in Norway. Because of their extremes of climate and their plentiful supply of spruce pine, the Norwegians have learned a thing or two about wood preservation for their building trade.

A new set of windows will not come cheap, but then they will have to be in place for a long time, and an expensive outlay now will probably prove cheaper in the long term. By the way, if you stick with wood, you may not need to remove the old box section woodwork either side of the sash windows, thus reducing your installation costs considerably.Roy Matthews, London, who wins this week's £25 National Book Token

Winning at draughts

A good draught proofing system that meets the British Standard will achieve 95% of the performance of new double-glazed windows. Most double glazing makes little difference to heat and noise. The other benefit is that it is normally a lot cheaper than replacement.Jim Neale, by email

Forget the 'special deals'

It sounds as though your house is Edwardian, so aluminium windows would be totally inappropriate. Not only will they look absolutely disgusting, they will also devalue your property.

As for the constant calls from window companies, I would refuse to buy from any of them. There is no such thing as a "discount" or "special deal". It is worth knowing that some of the large DIY superstores offer windows at far lower prices than specialist companies.Alison Howard, by email

Shop around

Our solution has been to get 10 quotes from a variety of firms including three recommended by the manufacturers of windows. Prices for the same windows varied from £7,000 to £18,000. We have chosen to have our existing wooden windows revamped with new casement sashes and double-glazed units.

The cost is slightly more than the cheapest uPVC quote and they will need maintenance but they look a million times better. We also had the house's cavity walls and loft space heavily insulated (£500 including a government grant) and now there is little need for double-glazing.Mark Tennent, by email

Any answers?My mother will soon be retiring and is concerned that her pension and investments will not enable her to lead a fulfiling retirement. My brothers and I have suggested she release the equity in her home, which is worth about £190,000. Are there any recommendations you could make or should we look at alternatives to equity release?

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